Philly Apartments
by Lilo-Lee
Summary: Set after Gilmore Girls. Told from Jess's POV.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer – **I still don't own Gilmore Girls…louder sigh…

**AN – **I've been thinking about writing this for awhile now, but just didn't have the little details down, (still don't have some of them but I'm taking a shot here). This is my first multi-chapter fanfic and I've got some super big ideas in this gooey thing I like to call my creative mind, - super big ideas. This one takes place after the show and mainly focuses on Jess in Philadelphia, though I hope to do some neat little Stars Hollow scenes...again super big ideas yah huh. Beware those who are huge fans of Jess and Rory that she won't be in this much, I'm sort of creating my own characters for Jess…(Please be gentle).

Another warning - My punctuation sucks ass, so sincere apologies

**Shout Outs – **Once again Tott, my fellow fanfic junkie…And a whopping mention to my Sarah because lets be honest kids; there's no way I'd be even half this cool with out her.

Enjoy Peeps.

---

It was a door.

It wasn't painted an obnoxiously bright color. It didn't have any pictures or sparkles decorating it. And it wasn't so small as to fit in a tiny, finger sized piano behind it, though he wasn't sure whether or not it held a full sized one.

He had been standing in the exact same spot, in front of the now infamous door, for over twenty minutes now, thinking intensely about the reasons why he had agreed to move out in the first place.

He liked staying at Truncheon. It was the first real place he had built for himself, and though he wouldn't tell anyone this, he had gotten quite attached. Though that attachment had been stretched to its limits lately with Matthew, Chris, Keith, Dallas and him all sharing the same, small, cramped rooms upstairs. It had all got to be a bit much. Jess had lost count of the times when he had forgone sleeping upstairs in his own bed, in favor of sleeping on the couch downstairs amongst the stacks of books and manuscripts. One could only put up with thunderous snoring and noisy bed springs, for so long. Also the incredibly thin walls didn't allow for much privacy, which was something that Jess admitted he was extremely fond of.

So here he was, fidgeting with his torn, rolled up newspaper; looking at his eighth apartment for the day. Already wishing he was back at his small, cramped and sometimes less than fragrant smelling room at Truncheon.

Maybe this one wouldn't be as bad as the last? Though it'd be pretty hard to top the place right beside the fish market he thought.

The building had looked fine from the outside; no graffiti on the walls, stairs all intact, elevator working, no shady looking groups hanging around, no weird smells or substances, seemingly safe neighborhood and pretty decent for the price.

He let out an exhausted sigh; he had been standing out here way too long. There was nothing to do now but knock on the damn door and see for himself. He knocked three times and stood back to wait, then heard a male voice yell from inside. "Come on in!"

He stuck the newspaper in the back pocket of his jeans and walked through the door, mentally preparing himself for the worst.

He entered into a wide open space which he noticed was roughly split up into three different areas: The right hand side was clearly the living room with a few large couches and chairs arranged in front of what he could tell, was a decent looking entertainment system, with a TV on the far wall. On the left hand side was the kitchen, with cabinets lining the left wall and a window over the sink looking out onto the street. There was an island-type-bar further away from the cabinets where stools were set up looking into the kitchen and partially out the window as well. There was also a stylish looking dinning table and chairs set up in the middle-left area of the room near the bar. He also saw that most of the floor was carpeted in a deep shade of gray while the kitchen had a hardwood floor.

As his eyes ran over the apartment trying to take it all in, he couldn't help but think it was a little too good to be true. His gaze finally settled on the figure sitting on the bar stool, farthest away from where he was standing, at the door. He was a lanky, muscled figure in jeans and a long-sleeved button up blue shirt. He had longish, curly brown hair and was holding a bowl of cereal, and from what Jess could see, he had also been sizing him up from across the room. Then he spoke in a slight English accent.

"Well I don't see a suitcase so I'll assume your not selling anything. No big slasher, pshyco, 'kill kill kill' vibes, and you don't look like a preacher of any kind so I'd say you're a new potential roommate?" At Jess's nod he held out his hand. "Baxter."

Jess walked the short distance towards him and shook the extended hand. "Jess."

"Nice to meet you." He replied. "Now feel free to sit back and watch the show." Baxter said as he leant back against the counter with a grin and continued eating.

Jess's eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but he accepted the invite and took a seat on the bar stool next to him, removing the newspaper from his pocket for something to keep his hands occupied.

"You right in there pet? Haven't heard any yelling for a while now?" Baxter half shouted in the direction of what Jess could only assume were the doors leading to the bedrooms and bathroom; almost directly opposite the front door, in a small hallway.

A female voice yelled back from behind one of the closed doors. "I can't find my socks! Dammit! Bax have you seen the long ones with the black and purple stripes?"

"Sorry love I don't believe I have. Didn't leave them in the wash did you?" Baxter replied. Jess now noticed the packed suitcase on the floor next to where Baxter was sitting, and was starting to get a better understanding of what was going on.

"No I already checked. I swear I've looked everywhere!" Then Jess heard a gasp come from inside the room. Baxter chuckled and ate another spoonful of his cereal.

The bedroom door opened suddenly and out came a petite, dark haired figure, a few inches shorter than Jess with a fierce, determined look on her face. "Where is she?" She said slowly to Baxter, acknowledging Jess with a quick glance so as not to be too rude.

"Hey, your guess is as good as mine." He had given up trying to control his laughter as he watched her scan the apartment.

"She's got to be inside somewhere!" She said as she moved towards the living room and started looking under the couches and removing the cushions. She then stopped and slowly turned towards the pile of folded blankets in the corner of the living room, by the TV.

"Bingo." Baxter said rather cheerfully, still focusing on his bowl.

She moved towards the pile and quickly removed the thin blanket on the top. A small furry form then jumped and ran under the nearest couch, making a bell like sound as it moved. She turned around to face the guys, while still on her knees, to hold up two socks for them to see.

"Was that a rabbit?" Jess asked; a bit stunned.

"Cat." Baxter replied.

"Bitch." The girl said. She got up off her knees and walked past them back into the bedroom.

"Huh." Jess said, still perplexed by the scene he had just witnessed.

Baxter laughed at this. "Kitten actually. It's a special breed or something. It's one of the stupidest things I've ever seen, honestly." He waved his hand as if 'whatever'. "Why couldn't you just get a normal cat?" He yelled towards the bedroom.

"Quit dissing Tink!" Came the quick and heated reply.

Jess smirked at this. "It's named Tink?"

"Yeah, like Tinkerbell." Baxter answered. "Shit your not allergic are you?"

"Allergy free." Jess replied calmly. Though he wasn't too sure how he felt about living in an apartment with a mutant rabbit-cat thing.

As if he could read his mind Baxter reassured him. "It's harmless really. Just watch out it chews through cords a lot and hides in the weirdest places. It's also kind of vicious and obviously has a thing for socks, but I think that's it."

The girl abruptly came back out of the bedroom with a large duffel bag and smaller carry bag. Jess took the time to notice her more, as she wasn't in such a frantic rush. She was slender with fairly defined curves and had dark, slightly curly hair that went past her shoulders. She was wearing beat up black chucks, jeans and a gray t-shit that had a picture of Elmo on it. She walked to the kitchen counter, putting the larger bag next to the suitcase on the floor, and then started picking items off the bench and stuffing them into her smaller bag.

Baxter swiveled round in his chair to face her over the counter, also placing his bowl down. "Sure you've got everything now darling?"

Jess half turned on his stool and watched as she took the time to think. She bit her lip in concentration, mentally checking her list. "Yeap, list never lies." She then turned to face him swiftly. "Hey potential roommate."

He was dazed for a second by the sudden attention she was giving him, and the small smile that graced her face. But as always; he didn't let it show. "Hey." He replied simply.

Satisfied with his response; she quickly shoved the rest of the scattered items in her bag. "Ok I'm off." She then moved around the counter to kiss Baxter on the check in a friendly manner. "Later Bax, See you when I get back ok?"

He kept hold of her bended arms as he answered. "Without a doubt love, now be safe."

Jess watched silently and saw that they both had genuine smiles of affection on their faces. "I will." She then moved to pick up her other bags; extending the handle on the suitcase and slinging the other one over her shoulder. She walked past him, pausing slightly and gave him a small friendly wave. "Bye potential roommate."

"Bye." Was Jess's stoic reply.

A small bell sound came form the living room as a small furry form settled on the back of the couch to watch all three of them.

She quickly walked over to the form and whispered something to it while patting it affectionately.

Both men then watched as she walked out the front door with her bags; one still looking a bit confused and the other, saddened at her departure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer – **Ownage…no sir.

**AN – **Yup, I'm back, miss me? Ok so normally I don't ask for reviews, but an indication of whether this little thing I like to call a fanfic is being enjoyed by more than…none people, wouldn't hurt right?

Meh…

**Shout Outs – **Toni junkie, and Sarah spazz. Also to fans and reviewers who enjoy reading my work, (If you can call it that.)

---

There were a few seconds of silence after the door closed, as the two figures left in the room decided how to proceed after there not-so normal introduction.

Baxter was the one to first break the silence. "So that was Allie." He said as he got up to put his empty bowl in the sink.

"Allie?" Jess asked, wanting a bit more explanation as he was quite curious now.

"Yeah, she's the one who lives here." He replied. At Jess's puzzled look, he continued. "She's got a family emergency or something to go to, so she's away for a few weeks and I'm going to stay here for a bit longer and get a new roommate to move in for when she comes back and then I'll go to my new place."

"That's…" Jess trailed off as Baxter finished his thought for him.

"Confusing I know. But this way I can keep an eye on the place and whoever moves in till she gets back. She doesn't trust total strangers in her place alone and I don't blame her."

"Why not just wait?" Jess asked, thinking that was the more logical option.

"Already put the ad out when she got called. Plus now I can get my new place cleaned up a bit more so I won't be able to leave till next week anyway. And she thinks for some strange reason that I'd be better choosing someone than her, something about being a better judge of character." He shrugged his shoulders at this.

"Makes sense I guess." Jess relented.

"So, what about you Jess? What brings you searching to our quirky little residence here? Apart from the obvious reasons of course."

Jess was thankful he had added that last part to the rather apparent question. "Old place is too small now and I need a new one that's still close to work."

Baxter nodded along to this in understanding. "Fair enough reason, and were do you work?"

"A couple blocks over at a publishing house." He simply replied.

"Like it?" Baxter asked.

Jess smirked, he thought it was a bit of an unusual question to ask while interviewing a roommate, but at the same time he appreciated it. "Yeah."

"Good to know. Got any obvious bad habits?" Baxter inquired.

"Not that I know of. Stay home more often than not, clean up after myself - most of the time." He added thinking of a few messy incidents at Truncheon. "I've been told I snore sometimes." He found himself grasping for straws now, only answering half seriously. "Oh, I guess smoking would be the main one."

"Often?" Baxter asked.

"Not really." Jess answered easily.

"Allie's not too fussy. Sleeps through most noises too." Baxter said. "So no wild parties, dates or mates busting in at all hours?"

Jess smirked at this. "More than likely not. No."

"Heavy drinker? Early riser? Fan of Privacy? Religious at all?" Baxter asked him speedily.

"No, No, Yes and No." Jess said, not missing a beat.

Baxter looked at Jess for a minute, seemingly trying to determine if he was what he said. Jess was resolute under his intense gaze, giving him no indication as to if he was lying or not. After about a minute of this; Baxter blinked and reached towards a piece of paper on the counter. He ripped off a corner and gave it to Jess, along with a pen. Jess wordlessly wrote down his name and details then handed it back to him.

The moment was slightly interrupted, as a tiny bell sound announced Tink, as she jumped up onto the stool beside Jess and then up onto the counter to start toying with the pen Jess had just used. She was a cute cat really, with black and grey tiger stripes, large rounded eyes and a very rabbit like tuff where her tail should have been.

After sitting and watching her for a bit, Jess spoke. "Guess she was feeling ignored."

Baxter snickered at this. "You'd be cool with the rabbit?"

"Sure. Seems' harmless enough." Jess replied while still watching her.

"Ah, but looks can be incredibly deceiving my friend." Baxter said as he reached to pat Tink. She turned her head suddenly, dodging his hand and taking a swipe at it with her paw. "Exhibit A." Baxter simply said, gesturing to the kitten.

Jess just smirked at his comical actions. "Right so I've got your information and I'll just give you a call by Friday to let you know." Baxter said after retreating from the kitten's personal space.

"Cool." Jess replied. He got up off the stool and shoved the newspaper back into its pocket, making sure his hands didn't go anywhere near the kitten, who was still in her spot on the counter.

He then walked out the door; hoping for the best but still preparing for more sleepless nights on the downstairs couch.

---

He got a call from Baxter the following Wednesday, letting him know that he could move in whenever he wanted.

That same weekend he got the guys from work to help him move his stuff out, though not without putting up with plenty of complaints.

"Dude did you have to bring half the store with you? I swear it was one box of clothes and 12 of books and CD's." Matthew grunted as he and Chris finished bringing up another large box and placing it in Jess's room.

"Wait, one of those doesn't count because it was full of Playboys." Chris joked.

"My Playboys?" Keith's chubby, freckled face and orange-mopped head popped up from where he was trying to set up the stereo.

"Playboys are still books." Matthew countered.

"You ever read the articles in Playboy?" Chris asked him.

At this Matthew was silent. "Hey I do." Baxter joked from were he was stacking up empty boxes.

"Whole different can of worms man." Jess smirked from were he was sorting his CDs, at their amusing argument.

Another two boxes appeared in the doorway with a blonde head barely visible over the top. "Ok this is the last of them." Dallas said from under the mass of Jess's things.

Baxter quickly abandoned his job to help him navigate through the door. "Here let me help you with those mate." He said as he reached for the top box.

The others in the room all shared knowing glances. "Oh sure, Thanks." Dallas replied, a light blush appearing on his cheeks at the attention.

"Hey guys, do you want us to leave the room?" Matthew asked them sarcastically, causing Dallas's face to redden further.

"My room." Jess frowned at him.

Chris gave Matthew a whack on the back of his head. "Don't be such a jerk."

Not missing a beat, Baxter quickly retorted. "Maybe Matthew wants to be left alone with the Playboys."

"My room." Jess repeated.

Keith was starting to get a little concerned as he fully emerged from the back of the stereo. "Ok guys, did you seriously take my Playboys?"

Chris laughed at this. "Man enough with the boxes and the unpacking. I need a coffee."

"Same here." Dallas quickly agreed.

They started moving towards the kitchen, settling around the counter as Jess yelled out. "No one touched your Playboys Keith!"

Keith then hastily emerged from the room. "Right ok, it's cool."

They all snickered at there bumbling, awkward work mate. It was then that Jess noticed the small piano, half hidden in the corner of the living room.

As he'd been unpacking he had been noticing lots of new quirks about the place that he hadn't seen at first, and ashamed to say, that he was already becoming quite fond of his new apartment.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer – **I'm still here aren't I?

**AN – **Don't really have one this time…hmmm…

**Shout Outs – **Totts and Sazzle Pop of course. And to you beautiful, beautiful reviewers, how I love you so…

---

Jess had been living in his new place for almost a month now. Baxter had left after two weeks, but visited every now and then to check up on things, as his new place was only a few blocks away.

He was making the most of having the place to himself, which he was thoroughly enjoying. He assumed that his peace would be permanently interrupted when Allie came back from wherever she was.

He didn't know anything about what had happened with her family or how long till she was coming back. Though he was curious, he hadn't gone so far as to actually ask Baxter out right, where she was or what she was doing. He had found other ways to satisfy his interest, such as looking at the personal items scattered around her apartment. It hadn't helped much at all. Most of her things were arbitrary and didn't make much sense to him, and all that the photo's showed him was that she was incredibly photogenic.

Strangely, Jess found that more questions went unanswered the night she did return.

He was lying awake in his bed at 4 in the morning, marveling at the fact that once again, he was having trouble sleeping, when he heard the front door quietly open. Thinking it was Baxter paying him a surprise visit he went out to see, only to be startled by Allie's small frame filling the doorway, along with her bags.

When she spotted him she smiled weakly. "Oh hey. Sorry I didn't mean to wake you, uh Jess right?"

"Uh, yeah. Don't worry, you didn't, I was just coming out to get some water." Jess quickly fibbed.

"Oh ok. I was just going to head to bed." She laughed nervously. "Kind of beat from the drive, so I might see you in the morning?"

"Yeah, sure." As she moved towards her room, bags in tow, Jess quickly added: "Goodnight."

She gave another small smile over her shoulder. "Night."

She went into her room and quietly closed the door behind her. He went to the cupboard to grab a glass, keeping up with his charade of needing water. He had noticed how exhausted she looked. Her face had been so pale that the few freckles on her nose had stood out in the dark. Her make up had been faded and her eyes: tinged red. Even her clothes looking disheveled.

Curiosity did kill the cat, he thought ironically.

---

The next morning he got up and went through his usual routine of getting ready for work.

He hadn't heard anything from her room for the remainder of his sleepless night, but that didn't stop his gaze frequenting her door, which stayed firmly shut through his entire morning ritual.

He couldn't help but linger a little longer in the hopes of her at least making an appearance, but he had no such luck. He went off to work with his curiosity intensifying, and no idea what to do about it.

---

Work went by faster than usual and before he new it; he was standing outside his apartment. Outside, because he seemed to be stuck in front of the notorious door again.

"Damn _déjà vu._" He mumbled to himself. This was getting ridiculous, he thought. It's your apartment too and you have the right to walk in there whenever you want. She's probably not even in there. It's been over eight hours; she's more than likely gone out some place.

He found himself trying to imagine what she could possibly be doing at half past five on a Thursday afternoon. Yoga class randomly entered his mind, causing him to snicker.

Screw this, he thought. As he reached his key towards the door he heard the unmistakable jangle of keys coming from the other side. The door was suddenly wrenched open from the inside, revealing Allie in a simple uniform of black pants and a white top, with a black apron and bag clutched in her hand. Her hair looked like it had been done up quickly into a loosely twisted bun, but her face was clearer than the last time he had seen her.

She gave a surprised yelp at seeing him behind the door. "Oh shit, Jess, hey." She said; a little stunned.

"Hey." He dumbly replied.

"You just getting home from work?" She asked, pausing in the middle if the doorway.

"Uh, Yeah. Sorry I should have left you a note or something." He mentally slapped himself for making excuses to her.

He noticed her smile at this though. "Oh no. It's cool. I would have been here but my moron boss heard I was back, so he's called me in to work tonight." She stopped herself before she went into a complete nervous ramble.

"Bummer." Jess again found himself dumbly replying.

She laughed quietly. "We should really work on this roommate interaction thing you know? At least be able to stay in a room together for more than ten minutes." She joked with a convincing cover of false confidence.

He smirked at this. "Yeah probably."

They smiled and stared in silence for a bit. "Oh crap." A delicate frown appeared on her face. "I really have to get to work. I should be back around eleven, so I might see you then?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, sure." He replied as a reflex.

"Ok. See yah." She smiled warmly at him as she walked past.

"Bye." He said as she started walking down the stairs.

Way to go Mariano, he thought. Third actual conversation and you still said less than twenty words. He shook his head at his patheticness as he walked into the apartment.

---

He heard someone outside the door at exactly 11.23pm. He had stayed up later than he usually would of with work the next day, and looking at his watch every ten minutes hadn't made the time go any faster.

She came through the door quickly, chucking her keys and bag on the table beside it, and kicking off her shoes. "You ever kill anyone?" She asked him once she saw the TV on.

"No?" Jess asked, half turning round to face her on the couch.

"Want to?" She asked, with a strong scowl on her face and a hand firmly planted on her hip.

He could see this as a unique way of 'breaking the ice' and decided to go along with it. "Sure. Who?"

"Ray." She seethed as she walked into the kitchen and opened the pantry.

"Boyfriend?" He asked innocently.

"Boss." She corrected

"Oh." He replied, now smiling at the reason behind her mood. He watched as she moved from the pantry to the fridge, clearly hunting for something.

"There's some Lasagna left in the oven if you want it." He took a stab in the dark.

She turned and looked at him suspiciously, then moved to look in the oven. "You cook?" She asked; surprised.

"On occasion." He replied coolly.

She grabbed a spoon and hesitantly took a bite from the plate. He laughed quietly at her cautiousness. Her suspicious look turned to one of bliss as she swallowed. "You are a God!" She exclaimed.

"Nice to know." He smirked at her reaction.

She switched the oven off, put the plate on the bench and then walked to her room, only partially shutting the door behind her. "So where'd you learn your _Ferrán Adriá_-type cooking skills?" She yelled from her room.

A little puzzled by her actions, he carried on with the conversation. He figured his cooking skills were a safe topic to start with. "I used to work in my Uncle's Diner." He half yelled in the direction of her room.

"You enjoy it?" Her yell was slightly muffled from the bedroom.

It seemed that this was a common question with her and Baxter he realized. Maybe he'd ask about it later. "Not really." He answered.

She emerged from the room and walked back into the kitchen to pick up the lasagna. She then brought it into the living area and curled up with it on the opposite end of the couch; facing him. She had taken her hair out and left it tousled around her shoulders and had also changed into purple pajama bottoms with snoopy on them, and a large gray t-shirt.

He didn't hide the fact that he was looking at her in the new and relaxed position on the couch. She chose to ignore it at first, holding up the plate towards him. He took the offered plate from her and continued watching her with raised eyebrows as she gathered her hair and twisted it, shoving a stick shaped hair piece through it to hold it in place. She then took the plate back from him and settled into the back of the couch. "How come?" She asked him, once she was completely comfortable.

He took a second to remember what they had been talking about before her little show, and she smiled at this. "What teenager ever enjoys honest hard work?" He asked her.

"Good point." Was her easy reply.

A strangely comfortable silence followed with the quiet sound of the TV in the background.

"So what are we watching?" She asked him, turning to focus on the TV and taking a bite of the lasagna.

"Uh, just reruns of some old show." He struggled to remember what he had been watching just moments before.

"Hey 'Happy Days!'" She said, bouncing in her seat a little with a bright smile on her face.

It was the first time he had seen her smile like that. He found he liked that he'd been partially responsible for its appearance. He couldn't help his small smile as he joined her in her infectious mood.

"So Jess is a closet Happy Days fan huh?" She asked while preparing another spoonful of lasagna.

He scoffed at this. "Oh sure, the hair? Totally Fonz inspired." He gestured to his simple no-fuss do.

She laughed outright at this, while continuing to enjoy in the slightly distorted TV image and hot lasagna. They slipped into another comfortable silence, both watching the trouble-free lives of the characters. At one point Allie even offering to share the heavenly lasagna with him.

It was after one when they both decided to go to bed. There was no awkwardness as they simply said goodnight and went to there separate rooms.

After what he would call; their first decent conversation, his mind had been put at ease. She seemed like a perfectly normal roommate, even specifically a more suitable one for him. She was quiet, shy, kept to herself sometimes, liked her space and respected his, but at the same time they got along easily and she showed with Baxter, that she could be fun when she was comfortable. She still appeared a bit puzzling to him as the 'family emergency' was still unexplained, but overall he decided that he liked her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer – **Hold up a sec! I own all of this! This is miiine! Except the Jess character and all…but I'm writing him and doing a lot of guessing and interpretation, mostly with him, Matt and Chris so I think I should be entitled to a little ownage…Well I own this fanfic so neeer!

**AN – **I've kind of lost a bit where I am here…trying to keep it at a realistic pace and not make certain things painfully obvious because I hate that. I like a little bit of mystery you know…But now I'm thinking there's too much mystery and it's too slow…I simply ask of you beautiful peeps that you bear with me while I try to find my balance, my Zen if you will, my feng shui…hiccup

**Shout Outs – **SAAARAH! Wooo! And the Tonoodle of course…I am wearing my snoopy as I type this…how cool am I?

And for those of you who don't already know…My cats a boy…Yup…Whoa speak of the handsome little devil and he shall appear, and attack your left foot…

---

A week later at work, he realized that not everyone he knew respected his privacy like his new roommate seemed to.

"So she's back huh? What's she like? Hot? Single? Walks round naked?" Matthew said as he peered over Jess's shoulder at the manuscript he was reading.

"Bags it." Keith said, walking into the room with Chris, hearing the last half of what Matthew was saying.

"You can't 'bags' a human being." Matthew said to Keith with a frown.

"Can if they're on E-bay." Keith mumbled to Chris.

"Back off Matthew." Jess said, half threateningly while still trying to focus on the words in front of him.

"Aw come on Jess. You've at least got to let us meet her." Matthew whined to him.

Jess laughed. "No, I don't."

"Yes you do, its part of the official roommate code." Matthew argued, shooting Chris and Keith pleading looks.

Jess gave up trying to concentrate and looked up to see Chris give Matthew a mocking confused face, while Keith was too busy tearing open a chocolate bar to notice the exchange.

They were downstairs in what they termed their 'offices', which was basically their desks spread out in the open room with piles of papers, books and folders everywhere. There was a bathroom near the back door; that led to the storage room and the kitchen was on the left wall with a front counter that looked into the rest of the room.

Jess had been sitting at his desk in the far corner by the storage room, but had now turned his chair so he was facing the kitchen, where Chris and Keith were looking over the counter at them.

"Don't have a cow Matt, were bound to meet her eventually." Keith mumbled with his mouth still filled with half the chocolate bar.

"Dude, chew and swallow." Chris said to him as bits of food flew out of his mouth.

Matthew paused for a second, seemingly thinking about what Keith had just said. Jess saw this and immediately prepared to further enforce his previous statement.

He watched as a new sense of calm appeared over Matthew's features. "You know your right; no doubt we will meet her eventually." He started to back slowly out of the room as he was saying this. "We might bump into her on the street, or at her work, or maybe even at the apartment…" He trailed off as he neared the bottom of the stairs.

"Matthew. Drop it." Jess said. He shot him a serious look that let him know he wasn't joking anymore.

Matthew knew better than to push Jess by carrying on. He gave a huge sigh of defeat. "Fine. Jeez you're no fun."

"Not true. I'm fun." Jess said as he relaxed into his chair, knowing that Matthew wasn't going to continue.

Matthew frowned at him. "Name one time?" He challenged.

Chris laughed and they all turned to look at him. "That time he kicked you out of the car and made you walk fourteen blocks home after picking us up from that pub."

A huge grin appeared on Keith's face. "Oh I remember that! And then you messed with his radio and tried to get him to sing along to that Avril Lavigne song that was playing."

Jess started laughing along with them at the memory. "See? Fun." He turned towards Matthew.

"Ok that was not fun." Matthew argued, frowning at their laughter.

"Maybe not for you." Keith muttered while looking at the floor; avoiding Matthews gaze, and laughing along with the other two.

Matthew rolled his eyes at them, apparently giving up on arguing. "Whatever." He said as he started climbing the stairs.

"Oh dear, we upset the Princess." Chris said as their laughter died down.

The front door suddenly opened causing Matthew to pause halfway up the stairs as Dallas came rushing in; red-faced and tired from running. He stopped just inside the door and bent over to catch his breath. "Jess…" Dallas started, but trailed off in favor of re-inflating his lungs.

Chris came out from the kitchen and rolled one of the desk chairs towards Dallas so he could sit and calm down. "Whoa, remember to breathe man." Chris put a hand on Dallas's shoulder as Keith brought him a drink of water which he practically inhaled.

After he'd caught his breath, he carried on. "I was at lunch, and Matt called, and I kind of mentioned that your roommate showed up, and that she was a girl, and then he went all weird, and then he hung up, and I'm sorry." He rambled out, taking another drink of water.

"Hah!" Matthew said from his position on the stairs and carried on walking.

They had all turned to watch him, and Dallas moaned. "I'm sorry Jess; I got over here as fast as I could."

Jess smiled at him. "Don't worry about it."

As the excitement died down slightly, Jess went back to his work and Keith went back into the kitchen to search for more food. Chris sat on the edge of the desk near Dallas who had relaxed further into his chair.

"Hey Dal, just curious, were you at lunch alone?" Chris asked Dallas, with a knowing smile on his face.

Dallas's face instantly changed back to red again. "What? Oh yeah, why?" He faked a puzzled expression.

Jess smirked while still looking at the pages in front of him. "You're a bad liar man."

"Well not everyone can be a natural like you." Keith spoke from the kitchen with a wide grin.

"True." Was Jess's simple reply.

"So who was he?" Chris continued, folding his arms. "Anyone we know?"

"Oh no, No one you guys know." Dallas quickly fibbed. "Hey I'm going to go check out those boxes in the storeroom ok." He swiftly exited the room, his face now a bright shade of crimson.

"That was cruel." Keith said with the large grin still present on his face.

"Hey I was just asking." Chris defended himself. "Pretty obvious though."

"What is?" Keith asked, honestly confused.

"That he's into Baxter." Chris replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Baxter's gay!?" Keith asked as his eyes widened in shock. "But…when we were moving your stuff in he said…" His forehead wrinkled in worry. "You don't think, that he thinks, that I'm, gay do you? Oh God." He was now pacing back and forth behind the kitchen counter.

Jess and Chris both found his reaction quite amusing. "Don't worry. I'm pretty sure he got it loud and clear; what with you having the largest collection of playboys known to man." Jess reassured him.

Keith appeared to relax at his words. "Ok phewf."

Chris chuckled at this as Keith stuck a straw in his can of coke and trudged upstairs.

They shared a knowing look, and Jess went back to work.

---

His key turned easily in the lock and he pushed the door open. He heard someone moving around in the kitchen.

"Hey." Allie yelled out to him from her position in front of the stove.

"Hey." Jess walked in, dropping his keys on the table by the door. "What are you doing home early?" He said as he walked towards her. She looked comfortable in her knee length tights and fuzzy slippers with an oversized wool knit sweater, which she wore like a dress

"Oh I worked a different shift today, got called in at the last minute." She said.

"He just calls you up whenever?" He asked her, slightly confused.

"Meh." She replied, stirring whatever she was cooking and making him smirk. "Seems to work, easier to get days off when I want." She said with a cheeky smile. "And since I got home before you I thought I'd cook tonight for a change. I hope you like butter chicken because it's the only semi-decent thing I can really do." She said with a hopeful smile.

"Look's good." He replied with a smile, moving towards his room to take his bag off. He had never been a big fan of Indian food but seeing the effort she'd made, he decided to try. She took this as a yes and continued stirring, also smiling at there easy conversation.

It had only been a week but already they had adjusted and fallen into there own routine. They were both surprisingly comfortable around each other, aware of the need for space but also for conversation. Though he admitted that even after a week he still knew basically nothing about her. She never attempted to ask him for specific details about his private life and he liked to return the favor. Though he was now regretting this a bit and was considering sharing, if it meant he'd learn something new about her. He was a little surprised at how curious he was of her.

He came back into the kitchen and noticed a blinking green light on the phone.

"Oh crap I forgot." She said noticing the light as well.

"Too busy playing Martha Stuart." He quipped and smiled as he pushed the button to listen.

"Thought it was more Marion _Cunningham_." She teased him, sticking her tongue out in his direction as he leaned against the wall.

He couldn't help but laugh at her childish behavior as the automated voice announced that there were two messages.

"Hey Jess, Hayden just rang. He's moved the lunch to one thirty so be there, and please not ten minutes late like last time." Matthew's voice came up over the speaker.

Jess heard Allie's quiet laugh as he pushed delete and waited for the next message.

A confident male voice had left the next one. "Hey Allie, its Miles, I just got back into town and I was wondering if you could give me a call? Just whenever is fine, if you want. Ok, bye."

There was a slightly awkward moment after the beep that signaled the message had ended, where Allie stopped stirring and Jess stared at the phone, after a few seconds he looked at her. "Do you want me to…?" He trailed off with the question unsure of what she wanted him to do.

"Oh yeah, go ahead. I'll just call him later or something." She stumbled a bit as she answered him and he swore he saw the lightest blush grace her cheeks.

He did as she said and then walked into the kitchen as she moved to turn the stove off.

He decided to leave it for now but possibly bring it up later. "Finished?" He asked changing the subject.

"Yeah, all done." She replied, avoiding his eyes he noticed, as she moved the pan to the side and reached for the boiling rice.

He got the plates from the cupboards and silently watched as she dished up the food. They then moved to the living room to eat and watch whatever re-run or movie interested them.

As they watched TV and ate mostly silence with a only a few comments about the movie every now and then, he couldn't help but let his mind race with thoughts about the message. Who was Miles? Brother? Boyfriend? Pimp? Distant second cousin twice removed? He accepted the fact that he was secretly a curious person and that she seemed to be quite private, but he didn't want this to continue; this endless wondering.

He put down his empty plate on the coffee table next to hers, realizing that he hadn't disliked it as much as he anticipated, and reached to mute the TV.

"Hey?" She turned to him with a question in her face.

"Who's Miles?" He asked her outright.

She looked down and gave a small smile. "Ok you tell me something personal and then I'll tell you about Miles."

He was glad she had caught on and smirked at her bargaining. "Deal." He said, stopping to think what possible piece of personal information he could offer her.

She patiently waited while he was thinking. "I haven't had a serious relationship in over four years." He stated, hoping that was what she was looking for.

She frowned in confusion at him. "Why?"

He raised his eyebrows at her in question and she gestured for him to continue. He simply shrugged. "I'm not really sure."

She laughed a little at this. "Liar." She said, but didn't push it. "Miles is just a guy that I sometimes casually see. Casually."

"Casually?" Jess repeated, mildly mocking her.

She shoved his shoulder. "Yes casually. Jackass." She was laughing along with him now.

"Like that friends with benefits thing?" He asked amused.

She scrunched her nose up at the expression. "God that was so High school." She joked. "But more or less I guess kind of."

Jess's grin widened at her embarrassment and word clutter. "Ok that's it I'm going to bed." She said, getting up from the couch and taking the plates to the dishwasher.

"Wait why only casual?" He asked her honestly, now the joking was done.

"Convenience mostly." She replied simply, giving him a straight face as she went into her room, and shut the door behind her.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer – **Don't own Gilmore Girls. But fully own this fanfic's ass.

**AN – **Pleeease, pretty, pretty please review. Honestly guys, reviewing is the best feedback a writer can get! And if by not reviewing your trying to tell me I suck, well I'm going need that in writing too cuz I'm just that silly… (Huge great big thanks to those who have reviewed though, seriously, you guys…however few, are rockin'.) So go on and tell me the specifics of what you like or hate, or even want to see happen or changed and I'll see if I can make yah happy like a duck okies. Thanks!

Also do apologize for lateish update…weren't enough reviews to encourage and inspire me =P.

Oh that was just bitchy now miss, behave. (Sorry…)

**Shout Outs – **The Sarah, who never pushes, but only makes with the gentle nudges. Who never gets pissed when I spend way too much time reading the fanfic's instead of writing them. Thank you Cabbage, for understanding my wacky spastic-type ways. (In other words…Your da Bomb!) Gawd that was bad…

---

The next morning, Jess was woken by loud banging sounds coming from outside his room. He quickly got up and went to open his door. Taking in the sight in front of him, he leant against the doorway and smirked. Allie was sitting in a crumpled mess on the floor and had taken one of the dinning room chairs down with her. A few feet away was Tink, sitting peacefully and watching the two of them as if they were the oddest things she had ever seen. His gaze turned back to Allie as he crossed his arms, the smirk staying in place.

"Hi." Allie said innocently, from her position on the floor.

"Morning." Jess replied, the smirk widening ever so slightly.

"We had a bit of a disagreement." She said, lamely gesturing to the tiny animal sitting only a few feet away from her.

They both watched as Tink, apparently deciding that they weren't entertaining enough, proceeded to start cleaning herself right in front of them.

Allie then moved from her uncomfortable position under the chair and crossed her legs, facing Jess, still in her PJ's and watching Tink. She let out a long sigh. "Bitch cat." She simply said.

Jess chuckled at this, moving to pick the chair up and then helped her to stand from her spot on the floor.

"Seriously!" Allie carried on, while moving into the kitchen. Jess followed; starting up the coffeemaker. "How did you manage to live with her while I was away?" She asked him.

Jess shrugged his shoulders, leaning against the counter by the coffeemaker in his sweats and an old t-shirt. "I just put the food out and it was gone the next day. Never really saw her." He answered her.

She turned from the open cupboard doors and glared at him. "Lucky bastard."

This caused Jess to chuckle once again.

Their light morning banter was interrupted by Jess's cell phone ringing on the counter.

"Who the hell calls at six on a Wednesday morning?" Allie exclaimed, yawning as if to emphasize her point.

Jess looked at his caller ID and smiled knowingly. "My uncle apparently."

"Freak." Allie said. Giving up her cupboard search she went back to her room to give Jess some privacy as he answered his phone.

"Hello." Jess said into the receiver.

"Hey, something's wrong with the new number you gave me, has it been disconnected or something?" Luke asked.

"No, why?" Jess asked, puzzled.

"I rang it a few times and got nothing." Luke answered.

"Huh." Jess responded. Moving towards the phone on the wall, he looked around for any reason that could have caused it, finding it in the gnawed end of the wall cord.

"Hang on a second." Jess said to Luke. He moved the phone away from his ear. "Hey Allie?" He called to her bedroom.

"Yeah?" She said as she popped her head out of her room.

Jess held up the phone cord so she could see. A look of disbelief appeared her face as she went to inspect it. "You've got to be freaking kidding me!" She looked around; trying to spot Tink in the room, but the kitten had somehow managed to disappear once again.

Allie opened her mouth several times, searching for something to say, but nothing came to mind. Her face fell; defeated. "I'll just have to get another one after work today." She simply said, walking back to her room.

Jess put the phone back up to his ear. "Back." He stated.

"Hey Jess, if this is a bad time I can call back later if you want?" Luke suggested.

"Why? Because it's six in the morning? Why would that ever be inconvenient?" Jess replied sarcastically to his uncle.

"No, well uh…because you have company…" Luke trailed off, slightly uncomfortable with the situation.

"What?" He asked confused, then clicked as to what it would have sounded like to Luke over the phone. "No, that's just my roommate." Jess said, smiling now at the humor in the situation. "No need to blush now."

"Shut up." Luke replied defensively.

Jess laughed. "Why are you calling me at six anyway?"

"I figured I'd try and get you before the breakfast rush." Luke answered him. "What were you even doing up?" He asked.

"Cat woke me up." Jess replied, mainly to confuse Luke.

"Cat, right." Luke said, thinking this was just another one of Jess's many references he just didn't get. "Uh so anyway, I rang to tell you that it looks like I'm going to be in your neck of the woods this weekend, so I was wondering if it'd be ok if I could stop by. You know see your new place maybe see Truncheon again and catch up." Luke rambled.

"Why are you going to be in Philly?" Jess asked curiously, knowing Luke wasn't telling him something.

Instead of hiding it like Jess expected, he caved straight away. "I got dragged to the Gilmore house last Friday, and Lorelai's dad is there on a business trip so Emily decided we should take a weekend and go see him, and I somehow got roped into the hole thing, and we're staying at this fancy hotel and going to these stupid dinners and I figured if I could come see you and maybe, hopefully get out of at least a few of these society things then possibly it would help keep me sane for the remainder of the trip." Luke took a deep breath as he finished his speech. "Please?"

"Sure." Jess said without even thinking twice.

"Really?" Luke asked; a little shocked.

"Hey, remember I've been on the receiving end of that particular cannon, and I don't wish that kind of suffering on anyone." Jess said very seriously.

"I'm so bringing you donuts." Luke dumbly replied.

Jess smiled at this. "Good to know my kindness is appreciated by some."

Luke chuckled quietly. "Oh I better go, looks like Kirks heading over. I'll call you when we get there on Saturday ok?"

Jess's grin widened at the many memories he had of the Luke-Kirk interaction from working in the diner. "Sure thing. And Luke, be nice."

"I'm always nice." Luke replied innocently, saying goodbye and hanging up the phone.

Jess went and poured himself a cup of coffee as Allie re-entered the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge.

"Pleasant conversation?" She asked him, staring at the contents in the fridge.

"Pleasant enough." Jess replied, leaning against the counter taking another sip of his coffee. "Is it cool if I have someone visit this weekend?" he asked her, now thinking since they did share an apartment it would be considerate to ask.

"Your uncle's visiting?" Jess nodded. "Cool." She said, grinning at him over the fridge door. "I can let him know about all your wild parties and all the one night stands parading around half naked at all hours."

Jess chuckled, watching as she got a bottle of water and an apple out of the fridge. "Oh he's going to love you."

---

"He's late." Matthew said, looking up at the door anxiously.

"He's a poet; don't they have a rule about never being punctual?" Jess joked, looking at the menu in front of him.

"Damn temperamental poets." Matthew mumbled.

"Relax, he'll be here." Jess tried to assure him.

"Are you sure he even knows where this place is?" Matthew asked; looking around at the table they were currently occupying.

"He'll show." Jess simply answered.

He followed Matthew's gaze and looked around. Walking through the front door you were greeted with the strong smell of coffee that was brewed behind the counter on the left. There were muffins, donuts and hot food all in there own containers and ovens along the first few feet of the counter with an open area further down, next to the till.

The rest of the space was filled with small, square tables arranged in rows, and some separated by a dark wooden wall running half the length and height of the room. There were also some couches arranged on the far wall and down in the back corner around smaller coffee tables.

The table cloths were a simple black with some white embroidery design along the edge. The chairs were also dark wood but with enough cushioning that they were also comfortable.

Jess attention was then drawn to the miscellaneous art work on the walls. At first they just looked like randomly chosen paintings and sculptures placed in any old free space, but at a more detailed look, they seemed to oddly go together, creating a homier feel to the place.

He imagined the art probably had more meaning to the owner than the customers, but he liked it. Overall it was simple and quiet, and didn't appear to try too hard to be something else.

It was at that moment that something from across the room caught Jess's eye. He glanced over towards the front counter, and saw Allie's familiar form emerge from a back door. As if sensing his gaze on her, she looked up towards their table with a confused frown that disappeared as soon as she realized that it was Jess. She smiled at him and gave him a small wave which he returned with a slight nod, hoping not to draw Matthew's attention to the silent interaction. He returned his gaze back to the menu, silently hoping she wouldn't choose to come over and talk, which would no doubt lead to an unpleasant conversation with his co-worker, who he knew, was quite capable of being a complete sleaze when he wanted to.

A waitress suddenly appeared at there table; young, blonde, slightly pudgy but cute nevertheless. Jess noticed she wore a similar apron to Allie's but apart from that their dress was quite casual.

"Hey, you guys ready to order?" She asked in typical school girl voice, pen and pad at the ready, with a textbook smile in place.

Her voice drew Matthew's attention and Jess watched as his face lit up at the sight. He sighed, knowing what came next.

"Well hello, Zoe? Is it?" He said, while squinting at the strategically placed name tag.

She gave him a strained smile at this and he continued. "My friend and I are just waiting for someone at the moment but could you be a doll and bring us both some coffee?" He said with what Jess deemed his 'slimy' smile in place. He also didn't miss the 'accidental' leg graze that Matthew gave her.

"Sure." She replied quickly, and then scampered off back behind the counter.

Matthew turned back towards Jess who was now putting down the menu and raising his eyebrows at him.

"What?" Matthew asked innocently.

"I swear man, why can't you just leave the female population alone like they want you to?" Jess said to him, now smirking.

"Oh come on! She looked like a cheerleader. How could I not?" Matthew answered.

"She probably is. And still in high school." Jess argued back.

Matthew grinned and Jess just shook his head at him.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Allie leave the front counter and go back through the door she had previously entered from. "I'm going to the bathroom, back in a second." He quickly got up before Matthew could reply and walked up past the front counter and towards the door that was off to the side, reaching it just as Allie was coming out. He grabbed her elbow and gently pulled her aside where Matthew wouldn't be able to see them.

"Stalker!" Allie said, slightly surprised by Jess actions.

"Hey." He simply said, glancing back towards there table.

"Hey?" Allie asked him with raised eyebrows.

"I didn't know you worked here." Jess stated, still distractedly looking over at Matthew.

"Well probably because I never told you." Allie said with a giggle. "Embarrassed at being caught on your man date huh?" She asked with a cheeky smile.

This caused Jess's full attention to turn back to her. "This isn't a date. I'm not on a date." He quickly defended himself. "It's a business lunch thing."

"A business lunch thing?" She repeated, mocking him.

"Yes." He said simply.

"Oh, okay." She said; her grin still in place. "So is there a reason you're hiding me from your date? Ashamed of me?" She asked with a look of mock hurt on her face.

He chose to ignore the 'date' comment. "Oh I'm not ashamed of you, I'm ashamed of him." He said, gestured briefly to Matthew.

This made her laugh, causing Jess once again to glance over at their table and Allie to quickly cover her mouth with her free hand. Her actions causing him to smirk.

"So what, you're warning me to stay away from him?" She asked him once she had gotten her laughter under control.

They both watched as Zoe went back over with their coffees, and shared what looked like another uncomfortable talk and 'accidental' upper leg graze from Matthew.

"No, just consider it a warning if you ever have to stay in a room with him for an extended period of time." Jess replied, still watching as Zoe blushed and once again, scampered away.

"Consider me thoroughly warned." She said once Zoe was safe behind the counter.

Jess realized he hadn't let go of her arm yet and suddenly dropped his hold. "Right I should get back over there before he thinks I've abandoned him or something."

She laughed quietly. "Oh because that might hurt his delicate ego."

Jess smirked back at her as he made his way over to his table.

"There you are. I was starting to think you did an Elvis in there." Matthew said as Jess sat down.

Jess was about to reply but stopped as he watched Allie walk over to their table. "Here's your muffin." She said, placing the plate in front of Matthew.

Matthew looked up surprised at her. "Well hello, and what happened to little Zoe?"

She gave him a small smile. "Her shifts over at 2." She stated simply.

"So now we have the pleasure of your company do we?" Matthew asked with his 'slimy' smile back in place. Jess also didn't miss his hand resting on Allie's ass as he slung his arm over the back of his chair.

Allie hit his arm away, causing him to flinch and then looked at Jess. "Seriously?" She asked him with disbelief.

Jess just shrugged at her with a barely contained smirk. He then watched as she grabbed Matthew's cup of coffee and poured the contents into his lap, immediately causing his smile to fade.

"What are you crazy?!" Matthew said to her as he moved quickly in his seat, fanning his lap and pulling at his pants. Jess was now laughing outright at Matthew's distress.

Allie took this opportunity to give him a solid slap to the back of his head, causing him to shriek again. "Hey! Ow!"

It was at this moment that their missing poet decided to make an appearance, approaching there table and standing next to a frowning Allie. "Uh hey guys, is this bad time?" He said; focusing on Matthew.

Jess took a moment to get his laughter under control. "Maybe we should reschedule."


End file.
